Day Nineteen - Goose Population Gains High Level by Ogden Nash

GOOSE POPULATION GAINS HIGH LEVEL

Headline (New York Times)

Besides pollution and erosion

We now must face a goose explosion.

A glut of geese can play the devil

With national life on every level,

Especially in politics,

Where geese and government intermix.

This solemn thought I introduce:

The higher the level, the bigger the goose.

---Ogden Nash

Goose Population Gains High Level by Ogden Nash

Oh, how I chuckle nearly every time I read an Ogden Nash poem. It's often a challenge to fuse poetry with humor, but Nash embraced the challenge and made a fairly successful career out of witty words. Of his many worthy poems, I chose this one from Nash because I share his strong dislike for geese. Having worked at golf courses growing up, I've had my fair share of run-ins with these evil creatures. The angry hiss of a hard charging goose is one of the more aggressive displays I've seen in my life. Not only are geese mean, territorial animals, but they seem to procreate disproportionately and they have a propensity to poop everywhere. With those character traits in the back of his mind, Nash constructs a fitting metaphor between our political leaders and geese. Admittedly, I don't have much to say about this poem from a technical perspective, but I still think it's a fabulous poem and funny detour during this National Poetry Month. In fact, I bet you'll think of this poem the next time you step into a pile of slimy, sticky dark green goose poop.